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Kevin Garnett Narrates How He Ended Up Regretting After Trash-Talk with Michael Jordan

Published 02/26/2021, 11:34 AM EST

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via Imago

Some people just learn their lessons the hard way, and Kevin Garnett’s trash-talking story about Michael Jordan is the perfect example of that.

Garnett is an infamous trash-talker, who had no trouble having a war of words with any player, irrespective of his standing in the NBA. But he made a big mistake trying to talk smack to Michael Jordan.

Garnett recently came on Jimmy Kimmel to promote his new book. However, the conversation took an interesting turn when he began telling his rookie mistake of trash-talking with Jordan.

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Kevin Garnett got burned for trying to take on Jordan

On Jimmy Kimmel, Garnett opened up about a story of his rookie year. It was a game against the Chicago Bulls, and his teammate J.R. Rider was having an unbelievable night. So, the young star got too excited and couldn’t control his mouth.

“I was playing great. Probably the best I ever played in my life at this point, and it’s against the Bulls and J.R. Rider is having an unbelievable game, too, and I’m feeling 19,” Garnett explained to Kimmel.

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“I’m like, ‘Yeah, keep going, you’re killing him. Woo!’ In the short form of it, I woke up a sleeping dog…That big dog named Michael Jordan.

“He bites, and he bit hard. I kind of got like a warning shot, but I didn’t really take warning to the warning shot,” he explained jokingly. “It just turned bad, Jimmy, it turned really bad. And it turned bad quick.”

J.R. knew better than to mess with MJ. “J.R. told me just to calm down,” said Garnett. “He was like, ‘Yeah, we’re having a good game, but chill. He can hear you.’ I was like, ‘Who cares? Keep going!’”

via Imago

Michael Jordan doesn’t let him forget it

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In fact, every time Jordan and Kevin see each other, he reminds Kevin of this in the most ruthless way possible. “Whenever I see Jordan he does the same thing every time,” said Garnett. “He palms my head, and he says, ‘Remember the game I gave you 40 in three quarters?’

“And then he has this sidekick … around him and he’s like, ‘Pull that up.’ And then a guy goes and pulls it up! I’m like, ‘What is this?’

“This is really Jordan Brand. Who walks around with content? Like, tee it up. It was an experience in which I quit talking trash to Michael.”

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However, Garnett took this in great stride and ended up making a name for himself in the league. He should have known not to poke the bear, but better late than never, right?

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Written by:

Yashima Bhatia

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Yashima Bhatia is an NBA writer for EssentiallySports who specialises in providing nuanced predictions and updates for matches. She has a Bachelor's degree in journalism and mass communication. Yashima's love for playing the game came up at a young age, when the excitement of the games coupled with the intensity of the Playoffs had her hooked.
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